Dan Hooker details getting last-minute visa for UFC 266, not caring about weight gain

Dan Hooker will fight at UFC 266, although there was a time when it was far from certain.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent lockdown in New Zealand, Hooker was having problems getting his visa to travel to the United States for his fight with Nasrat Haqparast. But luckily he got the necessary document.

“I’ll be there,” Hooker, who will face Nasrat Haqparast on Saturday, said on Monday. MMA time. ” Everything is clear. The visa was the only thing stopping me. Last Friday here in New Zealand, my flight was Sunday, and the consulate contacted me and said, “We will not be able to process the visa until the end of [next] the week.’ I had done so much work to get there, so I took to social media. I went on MMA Twitter, I was on the 6am news here in New Zealand on a few different stations, everyone was standing behind me and bombing the consulate. Everyone was submitting like, ‘Get Dan Hooker his visa, complete applications.’

“So with everyone’s help, out of the blue, they said,” We will give you an appointment on Monday noon, [and] i went down there [and] did. As far as I’m concerned, this fight is [a go] and I’ll be out by Thursday.

Last Friday, he contacted Kevin Covert, the acting U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand, to help him locate his documents.

After getting his visa, Hooker informed the MMA world of his successful meeting. Statistically, it is very difficult to get permission to travel abroad in the short term, but help from the public and the media probably saved the day.

After Hooker put pen to paper for the Haqparast fight, a COVID-19 lockdown began in New Zealand, making things quite difficult for the City Kickboxing 155er to even train for the event on Saturday at T-Mobile. Las Vegas Arena.

“This camp has been tricky,” Hooker explained. “When I signed for this fight, it was five weeks ago on Sunday, [and] this Tuesday we entered a full lockdown in New Zealand – and if you don’t know about the lockdown in New Zealand it’s not like other places. Absolutely everything is closed [down]. The United States Embassy has been closed [down], the consulate was closed [down] processing of any visa application.

“UFC got in touch with them, and they said I can’t come to the embassy to get his visa, I can just [send] I filled out all the forms, [sent] and I sat for four weeks waiting to get my passport. For it to happen last Friday that they say they won’t do it on time, I couldn’t accept it.

Hooker, 31, appears to be bouncing back from back-to-back defeats for the first time since starting his professional career over 10 years ago. After winning three consecutive fights, Hooker won the UFC title on ESPN 12 against Dustin Poirier and lost a unanimous decision in one of the best fights of the year. In January at UFC 257, he welcomed Michael Chandler into the promotion and was stopped in just over two minutes by the former Bellator champion.

Genuinely keen to right past two wrongs, Hooker thanks the MMA community for lending a helping hand in lobbying government officials.

“If I didn’t put the pressure on them, [this wouldn’t have happened]Hooker said. , and as far as I know, this is the only date they’ve had in the last five or six weeks.

Arriving at his meeting at the United States Consulate, Hooker described him as a gentleman simply opening a door and reaching out to him to pass his documents to him for processing. From there, he had to play the waiting game.

“I waited an hour and a half, then someone came down and handed me my passport. Not a single word was said, ”Hooker said. “I had to have it. It’s negative energy thinking it won’t happen. In terms of everything, it’s the easy part. Getting the visa, the flights, it’s the most part. easy to fight. You always have to focus on the essentials, which is to enter with one of the best fighters in the world and compete. “

Hooker won’t arrive in Las Vegas until Thursday night. After checking in at the hotel, he will have around 12 hours to complete his weight loss before stepping on the scale during official weigh-ins on Friday. When asked why he had waited so long to make the trip, he revealed that there really were no other options available.

“There are only two flights leaving New Zealand in this direction during the week,” Hooker said. “I could have had a flight on Tuesday, but it would be about 50 hours. I would fly 5pm to Dubai, then 2pm to [Los Angeles], so I would have arrived Thursday anyway. This is my only option. If you miss that Sunday flight, then Thursday is the only flight.

With the pressures of travel, schedules, and a very short window between landing the plane and stepping on the scales, Hooker has no worries that he’ll win the first half of his paycheck. pay.

“I’m not worried about it,” Hooker said. “It’s the little things, we can iron that out. I am ready for absolutely anything. I’ll just do as I’m told and focus on the fight. Whether it’s a hard cut or an easy cut, once I’m there, I’m there.

“Without a doubt, [I’ll make the weight]. “